Lolo Jones refuses to remain silent following a difficult experience with Team USA. In February 2025, she climbed into a team-issued bobsled at the Olympic training complex in Lake Placid, New York. The U.S. team was testing equipment before the World Championships. As the sled reached speeds nearing 90 mph, she sensed something wrong at the track’s end.
Her lower back burned. She couldn’t bend over and had lost control of her bladder. This was a novel experience for her. “I’ve never had that happen to me ever in my life,” Jones said. She approached the athletic trainer to report her condition.
Jones was a seasoned athlete, having competed in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics as a hurdler and the 2014 Winter Olympics as a bobsled brakewoman. She had also won world championships in both sports. She understood pain, yet this felt distinctly different.
A trainer initially arranged treatment for her. However, Jones claims the head of sports medicine at the Lake Placid center canceled it, citing prior treatment that week. Unaware of this, she arrived for the appointment and found it had been canceled. Hurt and anxious, she faced the season’s most significant race days away.
Soon after, officials revoked her access to sports medicine and imposed a broader ban from the Olympic training facility. This included restrictions from rehabilitation areas, weight rooms, housing, and the push track. The notice cited a code of conduct violation. Jones asserted that officials never specified the rule she broke nor afforded her a formal hearing.
Reports from the Southern California News Group indicate that USOPC officials later agreed that the approved treatment should not have been canceled. Though Jones apologized before the World Championships, the restrictions remained.
Jones emphasized the need for athletes to have medical access. She said, “I voiced my frustration that athletes should have medical access. It just continued to escalate.” Her condition demanded more than a simple massage, as severe back pain combined with bladder dysfunction can indicate nerve compression at the spine’s base.
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons lists symptoms like urinary incontinence, leg weakness, and severe lower-back pain as warnings for cauda equina syndrome, a medical emergency risking permanent paralysis or loss of bladder control. Jones stated that no one examined her or ordered imaging to assess the issue’s potential severity.
Lacking a proper diagnosis, Jones made a decision common among elite athletes. She continued despite the pain. Her doctor in Louisiana provided pain medication, and she returned to compete in the World Championships in Lake Placid. Partnered with pilot Elana Meyers Taylor, she completed four runs and finished sixth.
Reflecting on the risks, she said, “If someone would’ve told me, ‘Your spinal fluid is leaking out of your back. If that pilot hits a wall, you will be paralyzed,’ there is no way I would’ve gotten back in that bobsled.” Following the championships, Jones paid for her own MRI, revealing a herniated disc, bulge, lumbar tears, and a cerebrospinal-fluid leak. She later underwent spinal surgery.
Jones also funded her rehabilitation, travel, and private medical care while barred from the training center, estimating costs at about $100,000. For Jones, this financial strain underscores a broader imbalance in Olympic sports.
She stated, “I make good money, but I’m not making Michael Phelps money.” Jones now argues for stronger due-process protections for Olympic athletes. They need affordable ways to challenge institutions controlling their medical care, funding, and competitive futures. She criticizes the current grievance system as costly and ineffective against governing bodies.
This experience altered her view of the Olympics. She once considered her future daughter pursuing elite sports but no longer sees it as desirable. “I will not let my daughter be an Olympic athlete,” she said. “She will not be treated like this.”
Over two decades, Jones devoted herself to Team USA. She competed through injuries, switched sports, and represented the nation in both Summer and Winter Games. When she needed help, she felt the system categorized her pain as a disciplinary issue. “I’ve given so much to Team USA and represented this country as best I can,” she said. “And when I needed Team USA back, they absolutely abandoned me.”